The Mardale Hunt
Author Ron Black…In the north-eastern corner of the English Lake District there is a valley known as Mardale. This secluded valley contains a lake, under which rest the remains of a submerged village. The occupants of the village were shepherds who tended the local sheep high on the unforgiving fells surrounding the valley. Once a year they would meet to exchange strayed sheep, and from these humble beginnings The Mardale Shepherds Meet—best-known of all the meets of the Lakeland Fell foxhound packs—began.
It is often said that the origin of the meet is “older than the memory of man.” The introduction of the Ullswater Foxhounds increased the popularity of the meet, which soon attracted a much larger following than just the local shepherds. In the evening a public house called The Dun Bull was the venue for song and laughter. In time, The Mardale Shepherds Meet achieved worldwide fame.
The Working Foxhound
There are strip horses, upon whose pristine limbs no blemish may appear lest the judge be offended. Then there are the field hunters who carry their lumps and bumps like badges of honor.
There are show dogs, most of whom exhibit beautiful form but little function. Then there are the working hounds who slog through the bogs and rip their ears crashing through the briers.
The Casanova Hunt (VA) had their Opening Meet on Saturday, October 22. The pack started out clean and beautifully groomed for the photo ops during the Blessing, but after huntsman Tommy Lee Jones put them into covert they got down to business. We thought Douglas Lees’s portrait of this Casanova hound displayed the indomitable spirit and courage of that canine warrior—the Working Foxhound.
Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Makes Strong Showing at Penn National Hunt Night
Steven Hayes led the Cheshire riders to a strong showing on Hunt Night at the Pennsylvania National Horse Show in Harrisburg on October 17, 2011. Hayes won the Field Hunter Class for riders over thirty-five years of age and the Gentlemen’s Hunter under Saddle Class, riding Clever, owned by Mr. Stewart’s Cheshire Foxhounds (PA). Hayes […]
Sam Clifton Wins North American Horn Blowing Championship
Sam Clifton is 2011 North American Horn Blowing Champion. / Al Cook photoSam Clifton, huntsman for the Green Spring Valley Hounds (MD), won the 2011 North American Horn Blowing Championship on Monday, October 17. The sound of the horn has been a part of Clifton’s life from the cradle. His father Stephen is the long-time huntsman at the Eglinton and Caledon Hunt in Ontario.
Two-time champion John Tabachka, huntsman for the Sewickley Hunt (PA), placed second; last year’s champion, Steve Farrin, huntsman for the Amwell Valley Hounds (NJ), was third; and Martyn Blackmore, huntsman for the Loudoun West Hunt (VA), placed fourth.
Capacity Crowd Attends Museum Opening and Inaugural Exhibit
F. Turner Reuter, Jr., curator and board member, and Jaquiline B. Mars, vice-chairman of the board and gala co-chairman / Nate Jensen photoMore than four hundred people gathered to celebrate the Museum opening at the National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, Virginia on Saturday, October 8, 2011. Festivities surrounding the opening included a sporting art exhibit, a dinner-dance on the NSLM campus, a three-day coaching event, and a luncheon at beautiful Llangollen.
Chris Ryan Brings the Irish Method to Kentucky
Chris Ryan, MFH and huntsman, Scarteen Foxhounds, Co. Limerick, IrelandFifty riders from four states converged on the Woodford Hounds’ kennels September 3 to 5, 2011 for a foxhunting clinic featuring Chris Ryan, MFH and huntsman of the Scarteen Black and Tans, County Limerick, Ireland. For those who haven’t ridden with Chris, it is a life-altering experience that centers on safety, preparation, and fun.
Chris taught three levels of riders: those already riding first flight, green but gutsy riders ready to move up, and second flight members wanting to ride more aggressively to follow and enjoy hounds better. Each group practiced many of the same exercises, which were designed to perfect straightness and pace.
Hunt Report: Short Form
Going home. Time to start composing a hunt report! / Karen L. Myers photoWho had a good day with hounds yesterday? Foxhunters like to know. What did your hounds do that made you proud? Tell us about it.
Fred Berry, MFH, Sedgefield Hunt (NC) came up with an idea to make it easier for hunts to submit hunt reports for publication. Berry suggests that we publish a simple form—Hunt Report: Short Form—that huntsmen or Masters can fill out directly on their screen. Foxhunting Life will publish these reports which will be accessible to all, subscribers and nonsubscribers alike.
Live Oak and Aiken Team up for Hunt Night Win
Kathy Nofsinger and Patti Brantley riding for the Live Oak Hounds (FL) teamed up with Arnold Bloom, Aiken Hounds (SC) to win the Hunt Team Class at the Aiken Fall Festival. To view a video of the winning round, click here. Posted October 6, 2011 (l-r) Kathy Nofsinger and Patti Brantley, Live Oak Hounds and […]
Yolanda Knowlton Is New Joint-Master at Golden’s Bridge
The Masters of the Golden’s Bridge Hounds (NY) have announced the appointment of Yolanda Knowlton as Joint-Master. Knowlton is a longtime horsewoman who has evented, shown, and foxhunted. She has been a hard working member of Golden’s Bridge Hounds for many years, has run the hunt ball, the annual auction, and has served as Hunt […]
A Foxhunter’s Wish
Marge Warder and Monty, Opening Meet, Tryon Hounds, 2005 / Erik Olsen photoMarge Warder has had a lifelong love affair with horses. As a child, riding was her favorite activity.
She traveled the world as a stewardess with Pan American Airways and lived the big-city life in New York.
After retirement, she moved to North Carolina, resumed her life with horses, and joined the Tryon Hounds and the Green Creek Hounds.
Last year, at the age of seventy, Marge Warder fell off her horse Monty. Something was wrong. A few months later she was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease (amyotropic lateral sclerosis, ALS). She moved into an assisted living home near her sister Carrie Bartlett in Louisiana. She decorated her room with horse stuff and told stories of her foxhunting adventures. She shared one heartfelt wish with a social worker visiting the home. She wanted to ride a horse one last time.